Greens, residents call for investigation into ICAC-linked lobbying for new mobile home laws

A controversial law governing mobile home villages should be stalled and an investigation into lobbying by industry figures conducted, according to the Greens and village residents.

The call for a review follows a Fairfax Media report that park owner Norton Whitmont was a donor to Liberal MP Chris Hartcher's election campaign, named in the Independent Commission Against Corruption Inquiry into alleged laundering of donations, and had benefited from the law.

Mr Whitmont's son Theo lobbied Anthony Roberts, who was then the fair trading minister, to win major changes that will financially benefit park owners while removing protections against steep rent rises for pensioners.

''It should be delayed, reviewed and an investigation held into what lobbying happened,'' Greens upper house MP Jan Barham said.

''The evidence that has come to light is that it is going to be disastrous for older people living in these parks and the advantage is solely with the owners of properties.''

Ms Barham said there was no quality consultation process and the people who stood to benefit appeared to have had a big say. A parliamentary inquiry into homelessness was told on Friday that the reforms risked ''making parks unaffordable'', according to the Combined Pensioners and Superannuants Association.

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Independent Parks Residents Action Group secretary Justin Donkin told the inquiry residents were ''distraught'' that a critic of the reforms, the advisory group Parks And Village Service, had its funding axed after 17 years.

Mr Whitmont, president of the Camping and Caravan Industry Association, had also attacked the service in his submission to the government.

Christina Steel, of the Port Stephens Park Residents Association, said the ''process was flawed'' and the law should be reviewed.

Shirley Dalton, president of the resident's committee at Mr Whitmont's Kincumber park, said: ''We need to know what's been going on and a review would do that.''

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Fair Trading Matthew Mason-Cox said the new law protected residents and they had received ''an equal opportunity to contribute''.

''Any suggestion the review process was anything other than transparent and comprehensive is incorrect,'' she said.

Of more than 2000 submissions, ''a substantial majority'' came from individual residents, she said. However, the government has refused to release the submissions, with a Fair Trading spokeswoman saying this would breach privacy. Regulations implementing the law will be released shortly.